Bicycle Plan will Prioritize ‘Low Hanging Fruit’

It wasn’t a surprise when the Washington D.C.-based League of American Bicyclists did not award Gilroy the prestigious “Bicycle-Friendly Community” award this year. The requirements are steep, and only a handful of Bay Area cities have managed to satisfy the many benchmarks.

Yet while Gilroy may not have received the award proclaiming the city to be a haven for bicyclists, members of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission received something else they’ve been eager to get—the extensive response from the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) that details exactly how to move toward the lofty goal. 

“The value for us is determining where we are in the benchmark process,” said Scott Francks, vice chairman of the commission and point man in the application process.

In the month leading up to the commission’s September meeting, Francks will develop a list of improvements recommended by the league that prioritizes a handful of goals considered “low-hanging fruit,” he said during the commission's Tuesday meeting.

Commission members sent the 28-page application after Gilroy City Council approval earlier this year.

Some of the easier changes that the commission identified would be to recommend that the council proclaim May as “bike month” and to consider holding a regular cycling skills class in Gilroy.

More complicated, though, is the official integration of a “complete streets” policy, said City Transportation Engineer Don Dey.

While Gilroy already incorporates the complete streets concept while overhauling roads, ensuring that bicycles, pedestrians and cars can comfortably coexist, the policy is not an official part of the city’s general plan, said Dey.

It will likely be several months before discussions can begin about incorporating complete streets in the plan, Dey said. City engineers plan to consider the countywide proposal under development through the Valley Transportation Authority.

“The last thing we want is 16 different policies,” said the engineer.

“To a certain extent, we’re already doing it,” said Francks, “The only thing a policy would do is comply with the LAB requirement.”

The league divides the award into several levels, with the highest-rated “platinum” rating going to cities like Davis and the more attainable “bronze” going to cities like Cupertino.

The deadline for the next round of applications is in February 2012.

The Bicycle Pedestrian Commission works closely with the Gilroy City Council and the City Planning Commission. The commission meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month in the council chambers at , 7351 Rosanna St.

Check out the full letter, starting on Page 12 of the PDF attached with this article.